Believe it or not, there are areas of the world's oceans that are blind unless a warship is nearby, a spy plane is flying over, or a satellite is "tasked" to pass over the area and take specific pictures.

Yep just ask Tom Hanks , he had a hell of time .

You would really think they could make the black box float or float with a very long tether , epirbs that could float up or some kind of buoyant system incase of splash down .
There is so many common sense ideas that would be cost effective that would greatly increase our chances of survival or finding the wreckage .
EVEN IF they could not find the wreckage or passengers , ONE just ONE floating epirb would give proff that ir went down and general location , hell just a floating flashing strobe , a colored chemical , should I go on ?
I can excuse loosing a little LEER or Beechcraft or some little puddle jumpers but not a big plane like this .
Save everyone the time and money , Hire Odyssey Marine Exploration and let them find it in a few days .
They ships on site should all be towing magnatometers at the very least if they are not already .
Hell the cartel can find 10 kilos of coke 50ft underwater in the middle of the ocean with simple technology .
Then again , it could have been hauling red mercury and in an attempt to save the world they crashed it before the black hole sucked it up and killing an advanced alien species 100 million light years away starting a intergalactic genocide between chuck norris and the rombulons

__________________
Danger is real , Fear is a option

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

You would really think they could make the black box float or float with a very long tether , epirbs that could float up or some kind of buoyant system incase of splash down .
There is so many common sense ideas that would be cost effective that would greatly increase our chances of survival or finding the wreckage .
EVEN IF they could not find the wreckage or passengers , ONE just ONE floating epirb would give proff that ir went down and general location , hell just a floating flashing strobe , a colored chemical , should I go on ?
I can excuse loosing a little LEER or Beechcraft or some little puddle jumpers but not a big plane like this .
Save everyone the time and money , Hire Odyssey Marine Exploration and let them find it in a few days .
They ships on site should all be towing magnatometers at the very least if they are not already .
Hell the cartel can find 10 kilos of coke 50ft underwater in the middle of the ocean with simple technology .
Then again , it could have been hauling red mercury and in an attempt to save the world they crashed it before the black hole sucked it up and killing an advanced alien species 100 million light years away starting a intergalactic genocide between chuck norris and the rombulons

Both the colored chemical and the strobe work, but they work because rescuers are working in the general area. Chemical dyes last 30-40 minutes and are visible at slightly over a mile. Strobes are visible at three miles, and can last up to 60 hours, depending on battery. Since no one seems to have a general idea where the plane was when it went down, both of these would've been ineffective in this case.

Since powered flight began, electricity on a plane has been a love/hate relationship. While electricity makes flight easier in most cases, there are radiation and atmospheric concerns that can interfere with systems on the plane. Therefore, anything electronic ultimately falls under the pilot's control. Because of passenger safety, no system is allowed to have permanent electrical power that is not severable by the flight crew. Even batteries can interfere with operations in extreme cases. Therefore, it has little to do with the size of the plane or the technology involved, but moreso that everything on a modern jet is ultimately controlled by the flight crew. If the flight crew is corrupt or somehow compromised, they can turn off whatever they wish in the name of safety.

This is unlikely to change in the near future, regardless of instances like this, as the effects mentioned above can't be dealt with effectively. And as small as we like to think of the world due to the WWW, it still has its deadly, uncharted areas and places that are not watched 24/7, much to the chagrin of the current administration and NSA.

__________________
.
. “Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem." (I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.). Thomas Jefferson
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
-Edmund Burke, Loosely translated from Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents. (1770)

Both the colored chemical and the strobe work, but they work because rescuers are working in the general area. Chemical dyes last 30-40 minutes and are visible at slightly over a mile. Strobes are visible at three miles, and can last up to 60 hours, depending on battery. Since no one seems to have a general idea where the plane was when it went down, both of these would've been ineffective in this case.

Since powered flight began, electricity on a plane has been a love/hate relationship. While electricity makes flight easier in most cases, there are radiation and atmospheric concerns that can interfere with systems on the plane. Therefore, anything electronic ultimately falls under the pilot's control. Because of passenger safety, no system is allowed to have permanent electrical power that is not severable by the flight crew. Even batteries can interfere with operations in extreme cases. Therefore, it has little to do with the size of the plane or the technology involved, but moreso that everything on a modern jet is ultimately controlled by the flight crew. If the flight crew is corrupt or somehow compromised, they can turn off whatever they wish in the name of safety.

This is unlikely to change in the near future, regardless of instances like this, as the effects mentioned above can't be dealt with effectively. And as small as we like to think of the world due to the WWW, it still has its deadly, uncharted areas and places that are not watched 24/7, much to the chagrin of the current administration and NSA.

If there is a will there is a way . Timed release of the chemicals , 1-3 times per day for X amount of days . Tethered bouys or beacons .
Redundancy is key to both planes and boats at sea . If I could afford a big EPIRB I would not hesitate to bust it 100 miles off shore .
I refuse to believe there is nothing they can implement on al com planes that cant help us find them , track them ect ect , no matter the situation .
I can understand loosing flight 19 , a whole squadron but our technology was very very limited back then , still kinda hard to believe they are still missing but hey

__________________
Danger is real , Fear is a option

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

Would that be a beatch iffin they find this jet in the south pole, the same as they found ww 2 air craft in the north 60 years later....................Or in the deserts of africa for that matter...............We all made fun of the silent movie of man going to the moon................